Drabbles
by XMarisolX
Summary: Assorted Smallville drabbles. Quick fixes for all your angst, fanwanking, missing scene (and sometimes humor) needs!
1. Taxes

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Pre-Smallville. Spoilers for Lineage and Crush, kind of.   
**Description: April 1994. It's that time of year again.**   
Notes: N/A   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

"And to end my day," Lionel said to himself. 

He picked up the manila folder on top of his desk, and looked over his annual income tax summary. He always requested one from his accountant before the final paperwork was submitted. He basically spot-checked for glaring omissions, compromising inclusions, and fact errors. 

"Name, social, profession," he muttered to himself, scanning all the obvious blanks. "Family status," he continued, running his finger along the dotted line. 

_What was 28B?_

He looked in the box at the bottom of the page, and matched the numbers. 

_Single parent._

He hurriedly turned the page. 


	2. Sons

  
Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Suspect, Forsaken   
**Description: Let's play favorites.**   
Notes: None   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

"Excuse my lack of hospitality, but, uh, how exactly did you make it pass the gate." Lex said, rising from his chair, and instantly angry. 

"I'm family, they don't even ask." His glee at the statement made him all the more repulsive. 

"Well congratulate yourself on thinning my staff. Firings are in order." 

"Ah, Lex," he said with a chuckle, "we'll make a fiscal conservative of you yet." He moved forward some, tracing the engravings on a nearby ebony table with his wiry finger. 

"And for what do I deserve the nausea of your presence?" The sardonic tone was a thin disguise for his very real disgust. 

He waited a beat before answering, but not before dropping his glib expression. "You finally did it" 

"If you think I'm gonna tolerate a lecture from you, you're sadly mistaken. GET OUT." There was gristle in Lex's voice and fury in his eyes. 

"Your father is genius, Lex," he continued undaunted, growing more accusing. "A business maverick. And yet, even he was blinded by nepotism, tolerating your debauchery for years, relegating me to his right hand, while his screw-up son remained his signet ring." 

Lex was inches from his face. "I said _get out_." They gazed at each other in fixed derision a moment, before he turned to leave. 

"I always was your father's favorite son." 

"Or whore." 

Dominic gave Lex a cold look over his shoulder as he left the room. 


	3. Black Like Me

  
Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Forsaken, Covenant   
Note: Written for slodwick's "Pick a card, any card" Challenge   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

"And explain to me why you have _soo_ many carton's of cigarettes under your bed?" Lionel asked. It was all rather bewildering. 

"Currency in here, Bud. No money, so you go to the next best motivation...addiction." 

Lionel nodded. It certainly wasn't beneath him - he rather liked the idea. 

"While we're getting, um, acquainted, I been meaning to ask you somethin'. I mean, your people's over there. You ain't exactly the...uh - " 

"I catch your meaning, Thicke. I'm not _exactly like_ anyone in here." 

"So, what do you get out of hanging out with us?" He chuckled. "It ain't jungle fever." 

"I have strategies of my own," Lionel said, internally applauding himself. 

Besides, he never knew if he'd have to play the race card. 


	4. Imminent

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Forsaken   
Note: Inspired by the 5-12-04 wednesday 100 drabble challenge: Fear. (I know - it's more than 100 words)   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

Lex hasn't left the mansion in three days - since they took Lionel away. He has forbidden visitors under the guise of a massive coorporate coup. It might be called isolation, something like depression. Except that he's never felt so free in his life. And he's too manic to be depressed. Manic and frantic and edgy. 

He won. 

He hears footsteps coming down the hall. Odd...maybe it's the accuser, coming to lecture, to deride him, to drown him in brutal honesty. To tell him that he hasn't won after all. That he himself is more powerful than Lex will ever be. That Lex will never win. The door swings open. 

"Did I scare you?" Lana asks with a tickled grin. 

"No," Lex says, swallowing his heart and his fear. "I thought it was Clark." 


	5. The Boardroom

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama, Humor   
Spoilers: N/A   
**Description: The boardroom.**   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

These days it took a lot to make him anxious. Still, standing outside of that door, Lex felt the faintest bit nervous. All the lessons his father had taught him had led up to this moment. He summoned him in. 

"Why should I hire you to run my company?" he asked. 

"I was born a leader - you know that; it's in my genes; it's my destiny," Lex responded. 

"But some say you're...unethical," he countered. 

"I've had to wade into gray areas, make _shrewd_ decisions. But I extol and champion business morality." 

"I don't buy it," he said sharply. 

"Please don't say it Mr. Trump," Lex pleaded. 

"This is a tough one, but...YOU'RE FIRED!"

* * *

_Author's Notes: _Just in case you've been under a rock, do not live in the United States, or considerable time has passed since this was first written, this scenario is based on the reality show "The Apprentice." 


	6. Come Back

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Season 2 Finale   
**Description: Come back.**   
Notes: Written for the 8/18/2004 Wednesday 100 Drabble Challenge: Write a drabble based on one of your favorite quotes.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Come Back**

The sunrise was incredible: a panorama of awe-inspiring hues that seemed to taunt the mediocrity of a clear blue sky. From the loft's elevated view, it was even more spectacular. She now knew that from the many grieving nights that had turned to grieving mornings before she'd realized it. 

She stretched as she rose, walking towards the window, chanting the only words that had soothed her these many weeks. 

"If you love him - set him free..." She stopped there. With each passing summer day, the doom of the statement overtook its hope. 

She went down to make Jonathan breakfast. 


	7. A Trip to Market

  
Rated: G   
Note: Written for the Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Mystery   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**A Trip to Market**

"Yes, two dozen," Martha said. 

"So late in the season, they won't keep long," Marlene said. "I almost feel bad for selling them to you." 

"It's OK," Martha replied. 

"You sure?" Marlene asked. "Don't you just want the apples?" 

Martha knew they wouldn't see the light of day. Ever since Clark had confided they were his favorite food, she couldn't keep them around. It was all she could do to cook them, most times. 

"Everything, please," she answered, paying and quickly leaving. 

"What does she do with those tulip bulbs?" Marlene asked Beth. She shrugged. 

"Martha Kent's a certifiable mystery." 


	8. Back to School

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Forsaken   
Note: Written for the 9/15/2004 Wednesday 100 Drabble Challenge: Back to school!   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Back to School**

"Now turn to the code of conduct," the teacher said, over the flutter of thirty pages turning. There was yet another form his mother would have to sign when he got home. He didn't remember so much paperwork on the first day of school last year – or _ever_. "Repeat after me: Wichita Wizards are obedient, helpful and studious," she chirped. 

The class replied in unison with a sleep-inducing lack of enthusiasm. 

"Good," she continued, "Now, Wichita Wizards…" 

The girl next to him leaned over. 

"Somebody save me," she whispered. 

"Amen," Pete sighed, wiping the face of his "Go Crows" binder. 


	9. Of Lofts and Bards

  
Rated: G   
Note: Written for the 9-22-04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Poetry!   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Of Lofts and Bards**

"Roses are red, violets are blue 

Roses are red, tulips are pink..." 

Zinc, link..._stink_? 

"I used to only watch you,   
Through a telescope's eye - " 

Um...no. 

"Who's that to?" It was Lex. 

"Nobody, at this rate...Got any ideas?" 

Clearing his throat, Lex took a seat. 

"Sometimes when it's stinging,   
Devouring my soul   
I think this love I have for you   
Will char me like a coal 

But if your beauty burns me, then   
Consume me as a flame   
And toss my ashes to the wind   
That's whispering your name." 

"Done this before?" 

Lex sighed, despondent. "Once or twice." 


	10. The Morning After

  
Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: None   
Note: Written for the 9/29/2004 Wednesday 100 Drabble Challenge: Fly!   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**The Morning After**

"Three overnight!" Lois beamed. "A robber in Gotham, a rogue plane in Paris and a kitten in Grandville." 

"Yeah," Clark mutterd, "This article isn't gonna write itself." 

"It's amazing," she swooned, "bulleting through the sky." 

It had been amazing, once – soaring through the stratosphere at supersonic speeds, the panoramic world below, the wondrous heavens above. Once – before the world-weary nights, the ever-blurring identities, and the overwhelming guilt of sometimes coming too late. 

"Haven't you ever dreamt of flying, Clark?" 

"We're over by 200 words," he replied, curtly. She snatched the mouse. 

"You're too earthbound," she snapped. Clark didn't reply. 


	11. Fallen

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Gone   
Note: Written for the 10/6/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Falling! (which ::self-pimp:: was my idea)   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Fallen**

Night is falling on Smallville like a blanket on the weary. 

The twilight brings sounds of corn stalks rustling in the fall breeze, and smells of a harvest at its end. Crickets serenade the dusk and children scamper in from play. 

Hesitant feet, and then two more, cross the threshold of a hastily deserted home. 

Eyes peer through a telescope, the first time in months. 

Once cherished brandy goes untouched, perhaps forevermore. 

And not so far away, this hamlet taunts a colossus toppled, a titan fallen. 

Night is falling on Smallville. 

The first night of the rest of his life. 


	12. Life After Death

Rated: G   
Category: Drama, AU, Futurefic   
Note: Written for the 10/13/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Dedication to Christopher Reeve (courage in the face of adversity, triumph in the face of overwhelming odds, the value of hope and positivity, and the endurance of the human spirit).   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Life After Death**

"...Fire's still raging - " Lois called behind her, then halted, "Clark, you're still here?" 

Despondently looking up, he made his way out the office, "Yeah, um, … I'm leaving now." 

Entering the usually exhilarating clamor of the Planet now felt disorienting, pretentious…futile. 

"You still here?" Perry echoed. Clark, pressing forward, nodded - heartsick and dizzy. "Take your time coming back, y'hear?" 

But Clark thought he might never return. Living without his father seemed impossible, obscene... inhuman. 

Clips of conversation escaped the closing door. "… Superman hasn't shown yet…" 

Clark took a firm breath, loosening his tie. 

"Dad" he whispered, "this is for you." 


	13. The Bastard

Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Gone   
Note: Inspired by the 10/20/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Chose a past character (ex: Whitney, Victoria, Ryan etc..) from any previous SV episode. This is the extended remix that I didn't post at the livejournal.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**The Bastard**

Lex casually glanced at the obnoxious "New Mail" flag in the bottom right hand of his screen, a feature he still intended on disabling - eventually. 

He was stunned to see the screen name Manoli4169. 

"Punk," was the salutation, "Don't think I haven't been keeping up with this little media circus that you've been parading in the media." Lex paused, clenching his temples - _He's insane and a bad writer_. "But don't think I don't get the moral to this story - you're LuthorCorp's CEO now. Which means serious cashflow. You gotta wake up early in the morning to trick me into thinking that Lionel being locked up shouldn't somehow put Cristal in my cup, broads in my bed, and a Benz in my driveway. If your idea of keeping me "safe" is keeping me in the dark, I'm gonna put a whole new meaning to gone but not forgotten." 

Lex just shook his head. Lucas gave being a bastard a bad name. 


	14. The Call Not Taken

Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Pilot   
Note: Written for the 10/27/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Take a decision a character has made and write a drabble as if they had chosen the opposite path.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**The Call Not Taken**

"The most Smallville action I got was a near-miss on the bridge," Lex screamed, ending an embittered conversation that had already gone on too long, "You can take your crap factory and shove it." 

"You're a fool!" 

"Then God's on my side." 

Lionel shook his head as Lex left. 

"Just remember," Lionel called. Lex paused. "Opportunities like this only come once in a lifetime - don't think because I'm your father it'll be any different." 

"Yeah, Dad, I have a date," Lex said, and left. Checking his mobile, he noticed it was on silent. It simply said, "One missed call." 


	15. Lie to Me

Rated: PG   
Category: Drama, AU   
Spoilers: None   
Note: Written for the 11/10/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Transference. Characters should be either switching bodies or personality/character traits.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Lie to Me**

She wasn't sure he'd even recognize her. She was sitting coyly on the bed when he entered. 

"Mmm, Martha," he said, two wineglasses in hand. "I've never seen this, ahem, delectable lingerie before." 

"Just something I got with my tips from the Talon...like it?" she asked. 

"Very much," he cooed, taking her in his arms. She drew closer, whispering. 

"It was smooth against my skin coming on." 

"But how roughly can it come off?" he asked. 

"Jonathan," Martha said, leaning into a kiss, "I love it when you talk dirty." 

"Martha," Lionel purred cunningly, "You haven't heard anything yet." 


	16. Something Like Love

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Note: Written for the 11/17/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Five Senses Challenge: Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell, Hear   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Something Like Love**

"Why do you drink so much?" Clark asks. "By yourself, I mean." 

Lex shrugs vacantly. 

"I like the way it tastes: bitter, robust. I like the smell: musky, frangrant. I like the sounds of clinking decanters." 

"I like the way it looks," Clark ventures. "Like liquid gold." 

Lex nods once. 

"It feels..." He wants to say that liquor feels warm and soothing - his last vice. Feels like the rare evening Lionel was home, tumbler in hand, and Lex was invisible, but watching, craving affirmation, touch, something like love. That sometimes, the liquor _is_ his father. 

"Feels like what?" Clark goads. 

"Nothing." 


	17. Hiding in Plain Sight

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Season 2   
Note: Written for the 11/17/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Five Senses Challenge: Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell, Hear   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Hiding in Plain Sight**

"Would you rather be blind or deaf?" some tipsy flirt would ask, and he'd answer deaf every time. 

"I only believe what I see, and almost nothing I hear." 

And it was true – _then._. 

Before he first felt the touch of the redhead in his mind's eye. Before he was overcome with the bouquet of his brandy. Before he first tasted the salt in autumn air. 

Or before he noticed, truly heard, the bitter sneer in Lex's every word, despite his best efforts at disguise. Except with the Kent boy. 

And that's when he first saw it: Clark was special. 


	18. Can't Complain

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Note: Written for the 11/24/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Things SV characters can be thankful for.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Can't Complain**

When he's not careful, Lex has moments like this: alone, sober, at home, hopelessly awake, …and thinking. 

That LuthorCorp is all glitter and no gold after all. That he's an orphan in every way that matters. That he will never, _ever_ truly love. That no human should feel this much anger...and guilt. 

That living _really_ hurts. 

But, he's cheated death more times than Lucas has cheated at cards. And in spite of himself, he keeps living - and that _must_ mean something: that he's meant to be here, meant to live. 

And so he figures that's _something_ to be thankful for. 


	19. Abstinence, Truth and DVDs

Rated: PG  
Category: Drama  
Spoilers: Crusade, Scare  
Note: Written for the 12/8/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Sex, Lies and Videotape (Choose one, two or all three).  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.  
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Abstinence**

Gabe happily avoided some of Chloe's more …_delicate_ milestones; her godmother had tackled such duties.

Sometimes he wanted to stop time, _will_ abstinence upon her, shield her from sex and it's ugliest parts.

He himself had dated a little since the divorce, had enjoyed the ecstasy of a woman.

But he really ached for the lingering breakfasts, afternoon strolls in the bookstore, and lazy nights of aimless conversation - the true ardor of companionship.

He wanted _that_ for Chloe: someone to cherish her, love her.

As for himself, he sometimes thought that to love _him_, someone would have to be crazy.

**Truth**

_His lawyer  
His old boss  
His daughter's crush  
His wife_

Gabe mentally listed the people who had lied to him.

But there was someone else.

_His daughter._

When she told him that she didn't need a mother, that he was enough - she lied.

He only learned the truth when she did. Now, he heard muffled sobs when he couldn't sleep late at night.

He'd lied too - hidden that frantic, incoherent call, pleading her sanity, begging for help.

He'd forgiven most of the people on his list, after he'd learned the truth.

But he doesn't know if he'll ever forgive himself.

**DVDs**

As she walked back towards the house, Chloe thought of all her favorite horror films - even the black and white thrillers she'd snuck in the wee hours, when she knew her parents were sound asleep.

Her collection of mysteries and scary movies were the first to get upgraded when she switched to DVD. _Runaway Bride_ and her fellow chick flicks would have to wait.

Until she had nightmares of Hannibal Lector with a face like Lionel's. And visions of herself fleeing fires she could never outrun.

She could hear the BFI truck pull away as she went to make lunch.


	20. New Year's Resolution

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Early Season 4   
Note: Written for the 12/29/04 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: New Year's Resolutions   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**New Year's Resolution**

Lex is nothing if not resolved. The fact that he even still walks the earth is proof that his sheer will defies the laws of nature and probability. 

So, he finds making resolutions an exercise in redundancy. He can't be obligated by duty or New Year sentimentality. Such rituals are for children and fools. 

Which is why he stares at the soothing words in front of him, scribbled on a crumpled receipt and awash in periwinkle twilight, with a mix of bewilderment and quiet reflection. 

"This year, I will be happy." 

He's no child, Lex thinks, but maybe a fool. 


	21. Because the Night

Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Early Season 4   
Note: Written for the 1/5/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Broken resolutions. Title taken from the song by Bruce Springsteen and covered by 10,000 Maniacs.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Because the Night**

One near-miss murder conviction and Lex doesn't have to be told twice: this year, casual sex would go the way of early-morning heroin and late night dancing. 

But then… 

Another birthday taunts him with life: disorienting messages of reconciliation on his phone, nuclear apocalypse in his dreams, grief that still aches _too much_… 

And running into Clark at the post-office – and that glare that chills him to the bone and rocks him to his very core. 

So now, this woman in his arms is something to hold on to, even if just for tonight – and he can't let go. 


	22. Cats and the Cradle

**Rated:** G   
**Category:** Drama   
**Spoilers:** None   
**Note:** Inspired by the 1/12/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Wee!fic (Children. Either fics about smallville characters as children, or the children that Smallville characters have, or will have in the future.) The one I posted suffered too much for the word restriction, so I allowed myself 150 words (still a drabble) and rewrote it.   
**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Not mine.   
**Feedback**: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Cats and the Cradle**

"Daddy," she calls as he creeps past her door, "Come here." 

Chastened by unspoken accusation, he slips into her room, then stoops by her bed. He's been gone too much. 

"Will you play with me tomorrow?," she asks. He nods uneasily, hoping that he will, that he can. "And you'll be my friend?" she asks, and he can't help but laugh a sad laugh. 

"You'll always be my daddy?" 

"Of course, Precious." 

"And you'll love me forever?" she says, solemnly, with childlike doubt. He brushes a crimson curl from her brow, consumed with wonder at this human and love he's heretofore never..._conceived_, while plagued by personal failure that colors these moments. 

"Forever," he whispers with eternal gravity. 

"Stay Daddy," she pleads, reaching for him. 

He sheds his coat and places his briefcase and gun in a nearby chair. Then Lex tucks in beside her for the night, watching her sleep. 


	23. Metropolis Confidential

**Rating:** PG  
**Classification:** Drama  
**Notes:** Futurefic. Written for the 1/19/05 Wednesday 100 Word DrabbleChallenge: Rebel  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine.  
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**Metropolis Confidential**

"I'm losing you, Clark," Lois muttered to her drifting audience. "Stay with me."

"I don't like the way he looks at you," he spurted, apropos of nothing.

"Who?"

Clark's jaw locked; she rolled her eyes. "Lex is _harmless_."

"Is he?" he scowled. "You know something I don't?"

_Only that he runs lavender in his baths, tastes like brandy, and can spoon all night without moving a muscle_, she thought.

"_No?_ Then trust me when I say he's trouble," Clark declared triumphantly.

Which only made their secret affair that much more delectable. Or course, she'd always been something of a rebel.


	24. For the Discriminating Viewer

**Rating:** G   
**Classification:** Drama   
**Notes:** Written for the 1/26/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Things the characters secretly enjoy, but would never admit to.   
**Disclaimer:** Not mine.   
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**For the Discriminating Viewer...**

"I'd love to prattle on about the art of what you call 'reprobate fraudulence,'" Lionel cooed over a sardonic laugh, "but I'm afraid I have, as they say, 'bigger fish to fry.'" He hung up firmly, and left his office. 

"Will you be seeing Dr. Forster - he's outside," his receptionist inquired. 

"I'm retiring for the evening; I'll see him tomorrow." 

"Lionel," Burton called as he left the elevator, "Quick question - " 

"Tomorrow," Lionel waved him off. 

Finally, settling into his boudoir, he turned the night over to his TiVo: he couldn't put off watching "Queer Eye" another day. 


	25. The Right Stuff

**Rating:** G   
**Classification:** Drama   
**Notes:** Written for the 1/26/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Things the characters secretly enjoy, but would never admit to. Again, I gave myself 150 words - mostly because I wanted to. For the certifiable version, hop over to the livejournal.   
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**The Right Stuff**

Lex had always been a true technology fiend, but knew he wasn't a teenager anymore when he found out about the Ipod from his secretary's little brother. Still, it took him a year to buy one, and another six months to crank it up. 

When his CD liquidation couldn't wait another day, he took a lonely Saturday, and combed through his sizeable collection. 

Lex's passions run deep, and his taste is impeccable, so any observer would have found everything from Wagner to Etta James and Coldplay. But even he paused when he stumbled across his _first_ CD - a present from his mother when he was ten. He was too young then to know better, but even now he looked at the tattered liner notes with a grin. 

Popping the CD in his stereo, he sung along to New Kids on the Block lyrics he thought he had long forgotten. 


	26. In My Room

**Rating:** G   
**Classification:** Drama   
**Spoilers:** Transference, Scare   
**Notes:** Written for the 1/26/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Things the characters secretly enjoy, but would never admit to. Title taken from the Beach Boys' song of the same name (this trend _will_ stop some day - I promise).   
**Disclaimer:** Not mine.   
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**In My Room**

The day after Sheriff Ethan rescued him from the woods, Martha took Clark to the bookstore in town (with the huge stuffed monkey) and bought him the book "You are Special." 

Then she took him home, and made him a tall glass of cherry Kool-Aid, and read him the story. Then she kissed him and put him down for his nap. And Clark didn't feel scared anymore. 

So sometimes when he's feeling more freakish than special, like when he dreams Lana kills him with a kryptonite dagger, he pulls the book back out - and he doesn't feel scared anymore. 


	27. Buried

**Category:** Drama, Angst  
**Spoilers:** Unsafe, Pariah  
**Description:** The evil that men do live after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.  
**Notes:** Written for the 2/16/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Write a drabble from the POV of an inanimate object. This _almost_ fits. Shoot me.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**Buried**

They say marriage is a three ring circus: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffering. The quip brings hearty laughter of denial at weddings and hearty laughter of agreement after divorces.

But at a graveside funeral, weighted with an agonizing grief too heavy for three, quips do little to balm the hurt.

So, a simple band that transcended its modesty with promises of love and eternity, lays tucked in white satin, buried with the erstwhile bride, while in a yellow farmhouse not too far away, its petite counterpart rests in a lead box of armor and broken dreams.


	28. Make it All Better

**Rated:** G   
**Category:** Drama   
**Notes:** Written for the 3/2/2005 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Crazy inventions, mad science.   
**Disclaimer:** The episode "Lucy" proves that I have absolutely zero influence of this show, so much less ownership. I mean, Lex got punked, like, 80 times. :shudder:   
**Feedback:** Be a doll.

* * *

**Make It All Better**

It's not often that they fight, but when they do, it's always like this: acridly fierce, then Jonathan withdraws and she roasts. 

And she cries. She _always_ cries — making her feel like her sniveling mother when her father was being a beast. And she _hates_ it. 

"Here, Mommy." 

_And_ she hates crying around Clark. 

"If you turn this, it makes you smile." Flashing a stick, he eagerly and purposefully cranks an imaginary handle. He's honest, four-years-old, and intoxicatingly soothing. 

This — _this_ she loves. She gathers him into an embrace. 

"See, Mommy, it works." 

"Yes, Precious, it does." 


	29. Sound and Fury

Rated: PG   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Memoria   
Note: Written for the 3/9/2005 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Siblings! And the drama and humor that goes with them.   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Sound and Fury**

Battling for days now, their fights were becoming frightening. 

"How much did you pay her Lionel!" Her screams became sobs. "Diamond earrings? _A platinum watch?_" 

"You're delusional." There was a pause, maybe some shuffling. "I _love_ you." 

"I _despise_ you!" she spat, "I was laid up in bed, Lionel, from having _your_ child." 

Lex heard a crash, and his mother shriek. 

"Let me go!" 

His father was eerily calm. "You _will_ accept that child Lillian – starting _now_." 

Lex drew Julian closer, watching as the baby slept through the pandemonium outside. 

"I won't let them hurt you," Lex whispered, "I _promise_." 


	30. Away

**Rated:** PG  
**Category:** Drama  
**Spoilers:** None really.  
**Description:** Lex's homecoming.  
**Notes:** Written for Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Woobies! (It's been a long time coming :does flips of joy:) And yes, this is 150 words. If you wanna see the castrated version, go over to the livejournal.   
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** I fiend for it. 

: 

If Excelsior was hell, summertime Metropolis was as close to heaven as Lex would _ever_ get. He couldn't get across the ocean fast enough, and the Concord seemed to take longer every time. 

Ignoring celebrity fellow passengers, he whizzed through customs (he'd already shipped his luggage home), and looked for the gray Aston Martin that was further evidence of his father's pathological Anglophilia. His mom (sometimes Pamela) used to greet him, but his Dad had for the last couple years. And to be truthful...Lex _wanted_ to see him. They'd lasttalked two weeks ago, and they'd fought – _badly_. Lex needed to prove himself somehow. 

He checked his watch again – already 11:53 – and his father was seldom late. 

Suddenly, he recognized their limo, and waving off Garrett, he jumped in himself. 

"Lionel's on travel; he sent me," Garrett said, then grinned. "So...you glad to be home?" 

Lex shrugged. He wasn't home _anywhere_. 

: 

_A/N – A woobie is someone you want to give a hug (in comfort)._


	31. Reawakening

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Season 3   
Note: Written for the 3/23/2005 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: HAPPY stories!   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**Reawakening**

Bill hasn't quite gotten over Pete and Abby leaving, and sometimes calls Jonathan, lost in a thick fog. 

Jonathan thought of himself after the surgery, the "custody battle" with Jor-El, and fights with Lionel. He remembers feeling cast into cruel depths that left him depleted and void. 

He also remembers emerging one day and seeing the brightest of suns in the bluest of Kansas skies, feeling Martha's pleading touch and meeting Clark's hopeful eyes. He could breathe again. 

And he remembers that first breath of happiness like an oasis in the desert. 

"It'll get better," Jonathan assures him. "It will." 


	32. Driving and Out of Control

**Rated:** G **  
Category:** Drama  
**Spoilers:** Redux. Pre-Smallville.  
**Note:** Written for the 3/23/2005 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: HAPPY stories!  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**  
Driving and Out of Control**

Lex didn't question why his father did _anything_. At sixteen, he'd long known that Lionel was driven by three forces: control, money, and lust – not necessarily in that order.

So when he picked Lex up from Dr. Thomas's office in a brand new 1995 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class convertible, Lex steadied himself with teenage indifference and slouched in shotgun.

"What do you think?"

"That this shrink, Excelsior, Headmaster Reynolds, _and_ their 'Conditional Re-admittance Requirements" can go screw themselves."

"No – I mean the car." Lionel tossed a shocked Lex the keys. "It's yours."

Control, money, (_lust?_) – forget the reasons why; Lex was _stoked_.


	33. Dogs

**Rated:** G **  
Category:** Drama  
**Spoilers:**None. Futurefic.  
**Note:** Written for the 4/6/2005 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Animals and pets. This is 150 words - because, 150 is just so much better. But, skip over to LJ for the 100 word version.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** I fiend for it.

* * *

**Dogs**

Balled up in bed, eating Häagen-Dazs under the covers, Lois was only sure of one thing: she wouldn't cry this time. Not for Jason. Sure, she'd known he was a dog from the start. But, she had a weakness for bad boys, and somehow, on a brilliantly moonlit Metropolis night, she'd almost thought she was in love.

But he was just like Brad and Raj and Nathan – they were all dogs. And you don't cry when it's over. Not for a dog.

Instead, you drown in fantasy about the crush (_love?_ ) of your life. You imagine he'll slow dance in the clouds, fly you home, and love you in the way a mortal man never could.

You think about settling for the very _un-doggish_ reporter at work.

And you snuggle with your terrier Mars, the only dog you _ever really_ loved. Which makes you laugh. And cry – just a little.


	34. The Uninvited

Rated: G   
Category: Drama   
Spoilers: Futurefic   
Note: Written for the 05/11/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: Weddings done Smallville style! Getting married, attending or destroying weddings, etc. :) (another one of my brain child :))   
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine.   
Feedback: I fiend for it.

* * *

**The Uninvited**

"Tonight's dinner meeting's at 8," Lex said casually. "Update me then." 

"Remember – the wedding's today," Pete said. "I was leaving at 3. But I guess I could – " 

"No – go." Lex insisted. After a moment he looked up again; Pete was still there, staring pensively. 

"You aren't going," Pete said flatly, not really asking. Lex sighed, pursing his lips. 

"It's not my custom to crash," he replied. Pete nodded. 

"Y'know Lois can be a real wench." 

Lex shrugged. "Have fun." 

Pete left. 

But hours later, Lex stealthily watched as rice, bells and flowers celebrated the alliance that ruined his life. 


	35. Broads

**Rated:** PG   
**Category:** Drama   
**Spoilers:** Futurefic, slight AU   
**Note:** A four part drabble series written for the 06/01/05 Wednesday 100 Word Drabble Challenge: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." (Theme taken from _The Hulk_)   
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.   
**Feedback:** Gimme, gimme, gimme.

* * *

**Broads**

This was crazy. Lex was about _sex_, and lust, and the thrill of the chase -- not love. He'd loved once, and well...was now getting it lasered off. 

"There," Sarah said, taking one last glance at Lex's now flaming back. She nodded to her dog. "Tell Mr. Luthor goodbye." 

The dog glared, then trotted away. 

"If you ever want that other tattoo, ahem, altered," she added, handing him a "Lethal Tattoo Parlor" card, "You know who to call." 

"I doubt that'll happen, but thanks for your number," Lex said. 

"Lillian must've been a heartbreaker." 

"I'll be calling," Lex replied, and left.

* * *

She'd heard about Lex, but between his baldness and affinity for purple, she'd grouped him with the others: eccentric billionaires with whom she'd come, seen, conquered -- and then discarded. 

But Lex Luthor—he had to be experienced to be believed. Witty, charming, rich, seductive. The night had been…divine. 

_This_ was the man, the vehicle from which she would tame the world. Just as soon as she tamed him first. 

"So, you gonna take me inside or not," she whispered, breath ragged from a thirsty kiss that was quickly becoming much more. 

Lex pulled away, breathless himself. "No. Not like this."

* * *

Lex mentally applauded. She'd stolen the mayor's official seal, ran a three minute mile, and reduced his judo instructor to a whimpering blob — all in the span of a morning. "You're a fierce heifer," he said. She laughed. 

"You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." 

"That makes two of us," Lex replied. He raised his palms. "You're hired." 

"Good thing for you," she said, leaping from his desk. "There's more where that came from." 

Lex's stare turned steely. "I'll demand absolute loyalty and cooperation from you, Sarah." 

"Call me Mercy," she said as she walked out, "you're gonna need it."

* * *

"You know I work alone," Mercy yelled when Lex broke the news. But two weeks in, Hope and Mercy were a force of Nature, the yin and yang of his covert security. They'd virtually become sisters – and they had matching tattoos to prove it. 

They'd filled their days altering traffic patterns, securing Lex's favorite haunts, and warding off pesky "reporters." 

But Lex thought they were just about ready for their _real_ assignment. 

"What do you think of the Man-of-Steel?" he asked over lunch. 

"You mean the Man-in-Tights?" Mercy sneered. 

"I could take him," Hope shrugged. 

"Good," Lex nodded. "_Very_ good." 


	36. The L Word

**Rated:** G  
**Category:** Drama  
**Spoilers:** Fragile (and those other delectable Mionel eppys)  
**Note:** Written for the 5/22/2006 Smallville Wednesday 100 word challenge: "Flowers." Yeah, I thought I was gone too. But I watched four SV eppys in one day, and Mionel sucked me back in.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** Gimme, gimme, gimme.

**The L Word**

"For Martha Kent," the deliveryman said, wielding a breathtakingly gorgeous bouquet. Martha tiptoed outside. "You her?"

She nodded, then signed, and stood on the porch, unable to go in. In a few minutes, she'd be back inside, writing speeches and making dinner with equal finesse. And yet, she needed just a few more seconds to smell them, touch them, enjoy them.

"For your committee appointment – L"

And even she knew the excuse was as transparent as the tulips in her hands.

"Who was that?" Clark called from inside.

"Nobody," she said, tossing them in the trash on her way in.


	37. Waiting to Exhale

**Rated:** G  
**Category:** Drama  
**Spoilers:** Fragile (and those other delectable Mionel eppys)  
**Note:** Yeah, I thought I was gone too. But I watched four SV eppys in one day, and Mionel sucked me back in.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not mine.  
**Feedback:** Gimme, gimme, gimme.

**Waiting to Exhale**

After Jonathan died, Martha was left swirling in confusion. Her entire life lost focus, and her loyal routine felt perfunctory and purposeless. Then, like a beacon, came the offer as senator. She'd never aspired to office, but it was useful, important, gave her direction...

And _totally_ overwhelmed her.

Until Lionel came along. And even though everything in her wanted to say no, there he was, time again, anticipating her need, taking her hand, showing her the way.

Under him, she _flowered_.

And Clark detested, loathed, _hated_ it. So Martha swallowed the ache that might be love for one more day.


End file.
